1. Field of the Invention
Present invention relates to apparatus and method for manufacturing pharmaceutical doses.
2. Description of the Art
Pharmaceutical doses in tablet or liquid form are made by pharmaceutical companies in formulations of a predetermined quantity of pharmaceutical units in each dose. Such pharmaceutical doses are frequently available in different strengths, such as 50 mg, 100 mg, etc.
A doctor typically prescribes a pharmaceutical or medication for a patient. The doctor, when prescribing a particular medication and medication strength, typically takes into account the patient""s age, weight, sex, strong versus weak health condition, available dosage types, and the severity of the patient""s illness, disease, or condition. The prescription is filled by a pharmacist who provides the selected pharmaceutical or medication in the desired strength and pharmaceutical type.
Errors can occur in this process due, for example, to the pharmacist being unable to clearly read the doctor""s written prescription. This could cause the pharmacist to inadvertently select the improper strength or the wrong pharmaceutical. It would be desirable to provide a pharmaceutical dispensing apparatus and method which minimizes the occurrence of these problems.
For certain illnesses or physical conditions, people frequently take multiple pharmaceuticals at different times of the day, often in different combinations at different time intervals. Such a process is prone to error by the user by selecting the incorrect pharmaceuticals, or taking the proper pharmaceuticals at the wrong times or in the wrong combination. It would be desirable to provide a pharmaceutical dispensing apparatus and method which simplifies the taking of pharmaceuticals, especially combinations of different pharmaceuticals by providing multiple pharmaceuticals of selected strengths in one dose or pill.
Previously, fluid jetting devices based on ink-jet printer technology have been used to dispense chemicals onto a substrate. Piezoelectric or thermal jet heads with one or more fluid reservoirs or chambers have been used to dispense a plurality of fluid drops of defined volume onto a medium or substrate. Typically, the fluid jetting heads dispense the same constant fluid volume.
It would be desirable to provide an apparatus and method for the custom dispensing of pharmaceutical to form pharmaceutical doses where each pharmaceutical dose contains one of more pharmaceuticals in a single tablet or liquid dose and where the type of pharmaceutical, and the quantity of the selected pharmaceutical may be easily varied to meet a specific prescription or to manufacture a specific pharmaceutical dose.
It would also be desirable to provide an apparatus and method which is capable of dispensing variably selectable quantities of pharmaceuticals to a pharmaceutical receiving medium, such as a tablet or a liquid vial. It would be also be desirable to provide an apparatus and method which is capable of dispensing multiple, different pharmaceuticals in varied, selected quantities to a single pharmaceutical receiving medium.
It would also be desirable to provide an apparatus and method which is automatically responsive to an input prescription or pharmaceutical quantity signal to dispense the prescribed quantity and type of pharmaceutical to a pharmaceutical medium.
It would also be desirable to provide an apparatus and method which is capable of dispensing multiple pharmaceuticals in separate stages to a medium, each separated by a barrier or sealing layer to isolate the different pharmaceuticals from each other in the medium as well as to provide an outer barrier layer to protect the pharmaceuticals in the medium.
It would also be desirable to provide an apparatus and method for dispensing pharmaceuticals which uses replaceable pharmaceutical reservoirs enabling different pharmaceuticals to be dispensed and re-supplied.
The present invention is a pharmaceutical dispensing apparatus and method which is capable of dispensing variable quantities of one or more pharmaceuticals onto a pharmaceutical receiving medium thereby enabling a pharmaceutical dose to be custom manufactured to the particular needs of a user.
In one aspect, the present invention is a method of manufacturing a pharmaceutical dose. The method comprises the steps of:
supplying one fluid pharmaceutical component in a reservoir;
providing a pharmaceutical receiving medium;
fluidically coupling the reservoir to a fluid drop generator; and
activating the fluid drop generator to eject a variably selected quantity of the one pharmaceutical component onto the pharmaceutical receiving medium.
The present method also includes the step of supplying the pharmaceutical component including the step of providing the one pharmaceutical component in a replaceable reservoir fluidically coupled to the fluid drop generator.
In another aspect of the invention, the step of supplying the pharmaceutical component further comprises the step of providing a plurality of pharmaceutical components each in a separate reservoir, each reservoir fluidically coupled to a different one of a plurality of fluid drop generators.
The method also includes the step of providing pharmaceutical component identification data to the controller for each reservoir connected to the fluid drop generators.
In another aspect, the method includes the step of controlling the activation of the fluid dispenser to dispense a variably selectable quantity of the one pharmaceutical component through the fluid drop generator to the pharmaceutical receiving medium.
In yet another aspect, the method includes the step of dispensing a barrier component onto the pharmaceutical receiving medium to seal a prior dispensed pharmaceutical component on the pharmaceutical receiving medium.
In yet another aspect of the present method, the method includes the step of providing a signal to the fluid dispenser from a remote signal source specifying a selected quantity of specified pharmaceutical component to be dispensed onto one pharmaceutical receiving medium. The signal from the remote source may also specify the selected quantities of a plurality of pharmaceutical components to be dispensed onto the one pharmaceutical receiving medium and patient information.
In yet another aspect of the invention, the method includes the steps of weighing the pharmaceutical receiving medium after the quantity of the pharmaceutical component or components have been dispensed onto the medium. The method compares the weight of the pharmaceutical receiving medium with a reference combined weight corresponding to the weight of an empty pharmaceutical receiving medium and the weight of the variably selected quantity of the one pharmaceutical component to verify that the selected quantity of the one pharmaceutical component which has been completely dispensed onto the medium.
In another aspect, the invention is an apparatus for manufacturing a pharmaceutical dose. The apparatus includes a reservoir containing one pharmaceutical component, a fluid drop generator fluidically coupled to the reservoir, and a control for activating the fluid drop generator to eject a variably selected quantity of the one pharmaceutical component onto the pharmaceutical receiving medium.
In this aspect of the invention, the supplying means is preferably a reservoir containing a single pharmaceutical component. Preferably, the reservoir is fluidically coupled to the fluid drop generator and replaceably mounted in the fluid dispenser.
In another aspect, the reservoir is a plurality of reservoirs, each containing a different pharmaceutical component. In this aspect, a plurality of fluid drop generators are provided in the fluid dispenser, with at least one fluid drop generator fluidically coupled to one of the plurality of reservoirs. Further, the plurality of reservoirs are preferably replaceably connected to the fluid dispenser.
In another aspect, the apparatus includes a communication means, coupled to the activating means or controller, for coupling a signal from a remote source carried on an external telecommunications network to the controller wherein the remote signal specifies the variably selectable quantity and/or the type of the one or more pharmaceutical components to be dispensed.
The apparatus also includes an optional weight detector for detecting and outputting signals corresponding to the weight of the pharmaceutical receiving medium after the pharmaceutical component or components have been dispensed onto the medium. The activating means or controller compares the detected weight with a reference or standard weight corresponding to the desired weight of the medium which has received the complete specified pharmaceutical quantity. Any discrepancies can be use for corrective action or to reject the particular medium.
In another aspect, the invention is a replaceable cartridge for an apparatus used to manufacturer a pharmaceutical dose which includes a control receiving data indicative of the pharmaceutical dose and dispensing droplets onto a pharmaceutical receiving medium. The replaceable cartridge includes a reservoir containing at least one pharmaceutical component and a fluid drop generator fluidically coupled to the reservoir. An information storage element may be provided on the replaceable cartridge for providing information concerning at least one parameter of the reservoir, the pharmaceutical dose or the state operative of the fluid drop generator.
In another aspect, the invention is a method of generating a custom pharmaceutical dose using a fluid drop generator operated by a controller to eject droplets of a pharmaceutical component from a reservoir onto a pharmaceutical receiving medium. The method includes the steps of providing information to the controller indicative of a particular prescription, and selecting a number of drops from a pharmaceutical component to be ejected from the reservoir through the fluid drop generator in response to the information.
This method envisions the selection of one or more of a plurality of fluid drop generators, each ejecting a different pharmaceutical component. The method also includes steps selecting the fluid drop generators in a plurality of different sequences or firing orders for dispensing a plurality of different pharmaceutical components.
The pharmaceutical dispensing apparatus and method of the present invention has numerous advantages compared to previous apparatus and methods for manufacturing pharmaceutical dosages, whether in tablet or liquid container form. The present apparatus and method uniquely enable a single pharmaceutical receiving medium, such as a tablet, to be manufactured with variably selected quantities of one or more pharmaceuticals. This enables a doctor or other prescription prescriber, as well as a manufacturer of mass distribution pharmaceutical doses, to custom make a pharmaceutical dose which meets the specific requirements of a particular user or at a particular strength, taking into account various user characteristics, such as age, weight, sex, general health condition, degree of illness, physical condition, etc. The pharmaceutical manufacturer may also be able to use the present apparatus and method to construct a plurality of pharmaceutical doses to suit a wide range of personal characteristics.
In addition, the present apparatus and method may be used to custom manufacture a single pharmaceutical dose in a single pharmaceutical receiving medium with contains multiple pharmaceuticals. This is ideally suited for users who take multiple pharmaceutical doses or pills in different combinations and at different times during each 24 hour period. The multiple pills or doses can be replaced with a single dose which contains all of the pharmaceuticals the user is to take at a specific time. This can minimize taking the wrong pharmaceutical dose, or missing some of the doses a user is supposed to take at a particular time.
The present method and apparatus are also connectable to an external telecommunication network to enable prescription order signals from a prescription prescriber, such as a doctor, to be transmitted, such as to the pharmaceutical manufacturing site. The specified quantities of the pharmaceutical or pharmaceuticals which a particular user is to take can be sent directly from the prescriber or doctor to the manufacturing site enabling the prescribed pharmaceuticals to be automatically dispensed into a medium or tablet. This minimizes the potential for error in interpreting the prescriber""s instructions as well as minimizing error in the actual selection of the required quantity and type of each pharmaceutical.
The present apparatus and method also enables a cartridge carrying fluidically coupled reservoirs and fluid drop generators carrying different pharmaceuticals to be replaceably mounted in the dispensing apparatus. This enables a pharmacy to use the present apparatus and method to create many different pharmaceutical doses, simply by replacing one cartridge with a different cartridge containing a different pharmaceutical(s).
The present apparatus and method may also be employed by a pharmacy to manufacture a single type of pharmaceutical dose where the entire apparatus is replaced with a new apparatus containing new quantities of the required pharmaceutical or pharmaceuticals.
In the case of multiple pharmaceuticals injected into a single medium, the present apparatus and method may also be used to dispense a barrier or seal component which forms a seal layer between the different pharmaceuticals in a single pharmaceutical receiving medium. This prevents interaction between the pharmaceuticals before the medium is ingested by a user.